Uncivil War
by ToaArcan
Summary: Scourge brings the Destructix to Moebius, in order to reclaim his throne, but tensions are running high within the group due to leadership quarrels between him and Fiona. Meanwhile, Miles and Alicia have taken over, and aren't keen to release their grip. Conflict explodes between both teams, forcing Fiona to face an uncomfortable truth.
1. Chapter 1: Divide and Conquer

This is the fourth collaboration between myself and The third isn't on here, beause Fanfiction doesn't allow script-style stories.

This is the first of three stories, collectively called the Uncivil Trilogy, the second of which is currently being written. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

"So, remind me why we're following this guy up to Miles' castle again?"  
"Because otherwise, he and the tail he's chasing won't come back with us." Simian was starting to get a little tired of explaining it to everyone. For some reason Finitevus thought it had been a smart idea to try and keep Scourge around, a loose cannon if he ever saw one, by any means necessary. They already had Frog covering the crazy stuff, they didn't need a second wild card who didn't listen to anyone unless he thought it was a good idea, even if he could tear things up as well as Lightning. "We sure as hell can't lose more team members."  
"Whole thing just feels like another way to get ourselves stuck back in No-Zone if you ask me." Neither he nor Lightning were particularly enamoured with the idea, even if by now they were the only ones more interested in going in the other direction. Flying Frog was about as likely to scream everything being said at the top of his lungs as he was to assault the nearest tree, Scourge and Fiona had some vendetta against Miles and Predator Hawk was happy with going wherever as long as there was sufficient challenge, necessitating a certain amount of discretion in this conversation. Neither the lynx nor the ape were in a particularly good position to voice their concerns.

"Roll with it for now - if things go sideways on us then we can book out if we're fast enough. If you really need more of a reason, just picture the chance to gut one of Miles' underlings."  
That couldn't be denied - there was a certain element of pride in it, to be able to say you toppled the Suppression Squad. Heck, it was even Hawk's whole reason for tagging along at this point; he wanted something worth his time. Scourge, on the other hand, wanted revenge. The hedgehog hadn't been able to take his mind off it from the moment they'd skipped prison - he wanted the fox's head on a spike and he wanted the throne back.  
"Babes, listen, when we get in there, Miles is all mine." Who he was fighting didn't even factor in; this was his kill, and his alone. It didn't really bother Fiona all that much - she was just along for the ride by this point, the threats he'd been making the moment his inhibitor collar was off still fresh in her mind. He was just pissed off...he just needed to sort this out and he'd be fine.  
"What about the rest of us?"  
"You guys can screw around with the small-fry; keep 'em off my back."

"Is there a plan?" Lightning asked. The lynx didn't speak much, and he had soured since the team reformed, but he seemed to be the closest the team had to a voice of reason. "If we go in there half-cocked, they'll kill us. Let's be honest, the Freedom Fighters tend to beat us, and they hold back. If these are meant to be psychotic versions of them, they'll slaughter us and walk off laughing."  
"They don't have me." Scourge replied. "They don't have a guy to counter Lightning, and they don't have a hope against me. We don't need a plan. We walk in, kill Miles, and beat the others into following us."  
"And if that _doesn't_ work?"  
"Then we kill 'em. Stop fretting, Lightning; you're on the best team with the knock-out guy leading you. Chill."

The lynx motioned a reply as a hand landed on his shoulder, Simian's shadow once falling over him with a shake of the head. It wasn't worth wasting his breath trying to say it was a trap without being direct about it, and that would have about as much reaction as sticking your hand in a barrel of acid.

The charred remains of the Grand Forest quickly gave way to an empty plateau, the city lights blinking in the distance. On the hill above it loomed the onyx fortress they were aiming for, and in the centre of the plain, a colossal, golden statue of Alicia Acorn, Sally's counterpart, a sword hanging in one hand, a spear in the other. Her foot was rested on a skull, a hedgehog's skull, to be precise.  
"Now this is the fuckin' problem." The team drew up short for a moment, Scourge staring at it in contempt. "Anyone else think the queen bitch is in the wrong position there?"  
"What does it matter?" Rather abruptly Predator Hawk joined the conversation, until now having held onto his silence. "It's a statue - the real prize lies within the castle." He had no care for such displays of grandeur - the deed was the real monument.

"Alicia's an egotist." Fiona shrugged. "She likes trophies, whether they're golden, platinum, or flesh and blood. This isn't really anything to worry about."  
"It's still just wrong." Scourge snapped. "Gold's a soft metal, right?"  
"Well, yes, but-"

Fiona was cut off when Scourge leapt into the air, curling into a ball and cutting through the legs of the statue, toppling it, the rest of the team scattering to avoid the falling monument. As they picked themselves up, they shot angry glares at the hedgehog, but he was already strolling off, hands in his pockets. Fiona moved to follow him, but this time, it was her turn to feel Simian's massive paw on her shoulder.

"This was your idea, Boss. He's endangering everyone. If this goes sour, you'd better run." His voice was low, barely above a whisper.. The vixen paused, tensing slightly. Threats of violence from her own allies were a running trend for her these days: First, it was the members of the Suppression Squad, who wanted her dead for association with Scourge, now it was the Destructix, none of whom were pleased to be working with Scourge again. It almost made her nostalgic for the old days, when either threats were lessened by Nic shooting at anyone who tried to touch her protege, or when her team-mates, bar possibly Amy Rose, weren't unstable sociopaths. Almost.

"I promised you that this would all work out. When Scourge takes control of the Squad, we'll be able to curb-stomp the Freedom Fighters. And when we've done that, we can forget mercenary work and conquer Mobius itself." She said. Predator tapped Lightning on the shoulder, and whispered in his ear., his own views on the situation markedly different.  
"She hasn't worked out that none of us want to rule the world, has she?"  
"She doesn't even know what she wants." He replied. "What hope does she have of figuring us out?"  
"Zip. I'm not sure of what you're planning to do, but Scourge can have this world if he wants, and this lady can stand there with him for as long as it takes for her to realise he's not Mr. Perfect. Once we're done here I'm heading out - there will be grander opponents rising from the shadows when Miles is flat on his face." It was not the most convenient situation, but he'd be damned if he didn't have a plan for how he wanted things to go.  
"Got room for another?"  
"By all means, you are welcome."

The hedgehog was still totally oblivious to their preparations, kicking angrily at pieces of fallen debris, waiting for the rest of them to get clear of the dirt to where he could see them. This was taking far too long - they could already be inside, wailing on chumps, if they weren't all so thick and slow. How hard was it to not get hit by a big rock? Just because it was falling on _them_ was no excuse. Fiona quickly caught up, with the others trailing behind.

The rest of the journey was made in relative silence. They met no resistance, save for the massive stone wall of the castle itself, and, having been there before, Scourge easily bypassed it with a Warp Ring. Once inside the walls, the path to the throne room was effectively a straight line. Through the main atrium, then the Great Hall, and it was on the other side of that. And yet, there wasn't a soul to be seen. No maids, no butlers, just a few guards., dispatched without note.  
Simian still wasn't fooled. "They're clearly planning something - this place is far too big for the amount of people we've seen."  
"Someone probably saw us coming and everyone else pissed themselves and ran off. I'll be real sad if Miles ran away too." The green hedgehog was too absorbed in dreams of power and his own ego to notice anything amiss, even while both Simian and Hawk could feel the unsettling nature of the place.  
"I must agree with the sergeant," Predator Hawk frowned, "This place is kept too well for such a lack of staff."  
"The Freedom Fighters have that computer to run everything." Fiona shrugged. Guess Miles just stole the idea."

"I was in the Dominion when they held New Mobotropolis. The Freedom Fighters' city is constructed from trillions of nanoscopic machines." Lightning cut in. "This is brick. I don't think any AI will be responsible for the upkeep of this place."  
"Then perhaps you would like to explain the lack of life here." Nothing was about to convince the ape.  
"I think that's hardly necessary." The doors to the throne room swung wide with the voice, Miles' vulpine figure stepping through, flanked either side by a pair of figures. To his right, his queen Alicia and Buns Rabbot, encased with her armoured combat suit. To his left, Patch, pirate-turned honour-guard and Boomer, scientist with more than a few screws loose. The team struck an powerful sight, more so in Miles' case, the only one to have forgone armour or weapons. "Scourge - a...surprise, to see you back so soon, but you didn't have to do that to the walls; this would not be any different if you had just knocked like a civilised being."

"We saw you arrive through the cameras we planted in the forest. Ever since Kintobor used that place as a hideout, we've been monitoring it." Alicia smirked. "No element of surprise for you."  
"I'd ask you what you want, but I think we know already." Miles sighed. "You intend to kill me and subjugate the others. You do realise that I'm not even the leader, correct?"  
"Only 'cuz you're dumb." Scourge shrugged. "You're the strongest of these losers, right? Then why aren't you in charge?"  
"Because a leader should be picked based on not just strength, but aptitude for leadership and ability to commit to the role. Oh, and Scourge, maybe you shouldn't criticize me for not assuming the leadership role when your allies call your girlfriend "boss". Just a thought."

Forgetting that he had a squad of his own with him Scourge broke away with a roar, making a bee-line for Miles and his revenge. Such was the size of the great hall that there was plenty of time for Alicia and Miles to exchange the same unimpressed, disinterested nod. At the gesture the Suppression Squad broke formation, parting round Scourge to engage the Destructix as the two adepts came together in a flurry of fists and spines.  
Miles didn't even try to retaliate, his hands blurring to keep up with Scourge's hit and run style of hammer-blows, bright explosions of dust or shimmering discs of energy marking where each blow was turned aside with a flicked wrist or open palm. Still, Miles' most formidable physical weapons had yet to be employed. His twin tails arched behind him, tips sharpening.

Alicia, meanwhile, made a beeline for Fiona, aiming to close the gap. Technically, she was outnumbered, but she had yet to deploy her secret weapon. These idiots didn't even know what they'd walked into...or who. Her hand strayed instinctively to her sword for a brief moment before they pair stopped, moments from each other, squaring off across a few feet of ground. Carefully, a measured act, the queen withdrew her hand from the hilt of the blade, tightening her stance into the fluid combat style she knew well by this point. Holding a second longer, Fiona couldn't resist the contest and dove in, the squirrel's hand wrapping around her own and throwing her aside with a neat sidestep, scraping her against the floor.

"Come on, Red." She faked a groan of exasperation. "That was the most telegraphed attack I've ever seen from you. Put some effort in."  
"Fuck you." Fiona growled, rolling back to her feet.  
"In due time." The squirrel purred. Fiona balked, then glared at her rival, and lunged again. This time, she dodged past the hand and kicked her square in the stomach. The squirrel coughed with the sudden impact and clamped both hands around Fiona's foot, jerking it into the air and driving the tips of her fingers into the back of the knee. Fiona's nerves shrieked in protest and the leg locked up to leave her collapsing onto the ground once again, her opponent looming over her. "Maybe we're being too harsh on Scourge...you are a tasteful present, and a pet like you is so adorable."

"W-what the crap are you on about?" The vixen yelled. Alicia grinned down at her, putting her foot on her stomach and pressing down, pinning her to the floor even more surely. Finally this day was starting to get interesting.  
"Are you really that dense?"She asked. "I hated you before because you were in my way, but now you aren't. You're a rival, and once I've beaten you, you'll be my slave. Miles really can be a darling when he wants to, but it gets so dull when he's tinkering and I'm sitting around with nothing to do. I need something to sate my appetite, and having someone like you as my obedient concubine for whenever I'm feeling... interested... sounds pretty good to me."  
"Ugh!" Fiona yelled, grabbing the royal's ankle and rolling over, pitching her into the ground. She pounced on the prone squirrel, punching her in the nose in the process. "I'm nobody's concubine, you sick freak! Especially not yours!"  
"You seem pretty okay with being Scourge's."  
"It's not like that!"  
"Isn't it?" She smiled knowingly. "Because that's what it looks like to us. I'm willing to bet that your team-mates will agree too. And I know you pull double-duty as a punching bag too. I can see the bruises."

Alicia was clearly having far too much fun, but then again everyone participating was slightly unhinged. Boomer himself was trying to count the number of ways he could dissect Flying Frog as the other debated the multitude of methods available for finger removal. The walrus was having to contend with the erratic behaviour of one opponent contrasting heavily with the calculated, martial prowess of the other as Hawk skilfully passed over and under each of his sonic blasts, apparently unperturbed by the danger he was in. Still, neither could find an effective means of attacking him. Neither could penetrate his defences, any attempt resulted in another blast, cutting them off before they arrived.  
"I've always wondered what it would be like to splice bird DNA with a fly-trap!" All manner of thoughts were running through Boomer's head, none of them related to the fight. "You're not a perfect specimen, but you'll do! Flying insect killers, imagine that!"  
"You have not the skill at arms to beat me." The only banter seemed to pass between Hawk and Boomer, however thin it may have been - Frog was good for little else other than gibbering wildly and spraying spit everywhere, launching himself around the room erratically on the end of his tongue. Seizing his chance, the walrus' metal fingers snapped out, closing around the sticky appendage. He turned, slamming the amphibian into the wall, dragging him closer, and punching him out.  
"Oh no, no, I don't need this thing. Too many extra useless bits."

As he tossed the unconscious opponent aside and turned his attention solely to Predator Hawk, other battles were already starting to draw to a close. Simian's brute strength proved little match for equal power and superior technology present in Bun's battlesuit, high-voltage shock pads leaving him twitching and spasming on the floor.

"Y'all need to learn how ta treat a lady, and cut down on the 'roids." She grinned, activating a shoulder cannon. "Hey, yer maj! Ya want this one alive?"  
"Oh, I'm sure we can find a use for these idiots when Boomer is done with them!" Alicia replied, her momentary distraction allowing Fiona to get the upper hand again.  
"Ally, careful!"  
"I'm fine, help Patch!"

Grinning from inside her armour she turned to locate the coyote, the only one who was faring worse against his opponent, trying to match steel against an adept. Speed and wild reflexes had already proven themselves a match and more for his swordsmanship, physically unable to keep pace with Lightning's movements and feeling the sting of more than one bruise welling up. As stealthily and gracefully as she could manage while wearing the massive mech, she made her way towards the lynx. Using the cannon was out of the question- She wasn't at all fond of Patch, he was little better than Scourge, especially once her illness had taken hold, but killing him as collateral wasn't going to go down well- so she would have to use the armour's fists.

Raising its arm, she waited for the two swordsmen to lock blades, then swung at the lynx. He saw the crushing blow coming an instant before it hit, enough for instinct to kick in and throw him away from the cracking stone. Shaken by the incoming blow he didn't catch Patch's repositioning, the pirate's sabre coming out of nowhere to his side and slicing into his palm, tearing at the nerves with his own blade slipping free and clattering to the ground. Stumbling away and clutching his injured hand, willing it to heal Buns once again took advantage of the distraction, backhanding him away across the head. He was hurled away, crashing into the wall, slumping to the ground in a daze.

"You're running out of companions, Scourge." Yet still Miles refused to counter or strike back as the hedgehog battered himself silly against the defence being mounted. "Are you sure you thought this through, or has your ego once again eclipsed what limited capacity you had for intelligent thought?"

"Shut up, freak!" Scourge roared, once again bouncing off Miles' tails and crashing through a pillar. "I'm more than strong enough to kick all of your asses!"  
"You haven't even managed to break my guard yet, you incompetent plebian, but you'll never get anywhere if you can't keep calm about it - are you really going to start throwing around such vulgarities as 'freak' when you are the one coloured bright green?" Again, a flare of light blinding him as the fox deflected another blow, sending him away into the wall. "my genetics are a natural evolution, and yet yours is the result of a scientific reaction - of the two of us, you are the freak."

"Stop tryin' to confuse me with techno-crap and just fight me, idiot!" Scourge roared, rushing back in.  
"Why fight you when you're doing such a brilliant job of fighting yourself? I've been enjoying the rest of the spectacle - oh dear, there goes Predator Hawk." Barely having to keep an eye on Scourge with his enhanced perception he is able to watch the rest of the struggles come to an end. "three-on-one seems a little excessive, though, but I think it's time we wrapped this up. Alicia my dear, would you do the honours?"

"Sure." Alicia grinned, shoving Fiona down for a moment, before grabbing a golden palmtop from her boot. Opening it, she pressed a button, causing the screen to illuminate in purple. A moment later, a new figure appeared, flashing into existence among the others, a lynx clad familiarly, her attire a dress of black and white swirls.  
"Madam Alicia - oh my...what a mess. Should I clean this up?"  
"Just...put them away for now." The squirrel smirked playfully, "and be gentle with this one." A gesture to Fiona. "I want her in good condition for later."  
"Of course." Bowing low, the lynx's gesture had the whole castle shudder as it came alive, the brick and stone of the flooring adopting the texture of sand, rising up in long tendrils to envelop the unconscious Destructix, Scourge locked fast by the wall itself with Fiona lifted into the air with significantly more repose, hands and feed held fast.  
"Perhaps I should have introduced Anima sooner...she really was looking forward to this." His guard dropped and Miles smiled wickedly, crossing his arms behind his back. "You truly are a master of underestimating others, Scourge."

"Who is she?" Scourge asked.  
Shrugging emphatically towards Alicia, the hedgehog having clearly not noticed the palmtop, Miles felt obligated to explain even if to just raise the IQ of the room by a notch or two. "Anima is an Artificial Intelligence, though I would have hoped that would be clear without attention having been drawn to it. She was created to run things for us while we got on with our lives, but naturally, she has evolved beyond that. Her nanites infested the castle, and replaced the whole thing with themselves. Everything in here is part of her. Your team-mates will survive the transport, and so will you... But Fiona is going to be given a more comfortable trip, by the sound of things."

"She's the fun one." Alicia hummed. "I hope you don't mind dear."  
"Of course not." Miles said. "She can at least be useful to both of us."  
"I'd _love_ to hear what you've got in mind for her, but later, in private. For now...Anima, would you move these...things...to somewhere more convenient?"  
"As you command, my Queen." Anima tendrils dragged back into the walls, taking their captives through as well. Fiona, meanwhile was carefully taken off down the corridors, leaving the Squad alone in the corridor.  
Dusting off his gloves and lowering the enchantments over himself the fox frowned to himself, passing out instructions as he went. "Boomer, see to Buns' suit and any injuries Patch may have collected, and I'll have any usable specimens transferred downstairs once I decide which ones are available." That would work. "Alicia, I'll be with you in a moment, but I have to talk to Anima first about some pressing matters. Until then, your majesty."  
"Sure, you two have your chat. I'll be waiting. I think I might go down to the cells once everyone's awake, though..."

She certainly did; only a few minutes later she found herself wandering below the castle, through a long room originally given over to larders and conventional prison cells. Now with modern methods neither such device was necessary, food being stored somewhere else and the unfortunate Destructix fixed firmly in translucent spheres of nanites suspended from the ceiling, each of the squad members writhing within. Most of them weren't that interesting.

In one of the final two, however, Fiona sat, curled up, eyes wide, and shivering. Whatever she planned, Alicia had still had the courtesy to leave the fox-girl unrestrained if contained within the sphere.  
"Now this won't do, will it Fifi?" Already the squirrel had ideas for her. "Maybe later we'll get you transferred to a nice cage upstairs in my room, but not until you've learned your lesson."

"W-what are you talking about?"  
"Whatever do you mean; the cage or your lesson? It's really not hard to understand."  
"B-but... What do you want with me?"  
"Less than these thugs I assure you...Fifi, I'd like a pet. Not the kind that shits on the carpet and tears all the curtains, those ones are so dull and a chore to take care of. I'd like something a bit more...sophisticated? That's the word. You'll do nicely."  
"Hey, back off, bitch-face, she's mine!" Scourge wasn't just about to have his girl snatched away. He'd worked hard for that, and he'd be damned if Alicia was just about to waltz off with it.

"Oh, Scourge... fourteen years, and aside from some colourful new words, your ability to hurl insults has not improved." Alicia sighed. She pulled something out of her pocket, and unrolled it. The object was a glove, a long one. She pulled it up her arm, and flexed her fingers for a moment, before pushing her hand through Fiona's bubble. "You never treated your toys with any sort of respect, hedgehog; that's why they all ended up broken. I'll keep this one in very good condition..." Her hand roved across Fiona, the fox unsure what to do, twitching and shuddering with each touch. "I can't say the same for you of course, but you're nothing more than a waste of good oxygen. Oh, speaking of, you know that if I so much as ask for it, Anima can make these bubbles airtight? I give the word, and Fiona will be the only one of you still breathing. Of course, asphyxiating your pet's friends isn't a good way to get into her good books, so you get live for a bit longer."

Sighing emphatically, her hand slipped free of the bubble once again and she peeled it off, stowing it back into the pocket. "Well, it's been fun you guys, but I've got other things to do. I'll see you later, Fifi."  
"No, please! Let me out! I need to get out, I can't breathe!"  
"Sorry hun, but not yet - not until you learn your lesson."  
"No!" Fiona pleaded, pounding her fist against the inside of the bubble. "I'll do anything!"  
The squirrel stopped in her tracks, glancing back over her shoulder with a wry expression etched on her features. "Anything? Beg me, hun. Tell me you want me."

Fiona stopped, and stared at her, tearful eyes widening. She looked across at her team-mates, most of them fixing her with disapproving stares. Her eyes flitted back to Alicia, who gave her an inviting smile.

"Please..."  
"Little louder, pet. Need to hear it properly."  
"Please, let me out... I'll be yours, anything's better than this..."  
One finger against her lips she appeared to consider the offer, winking in response. "I'll think about it. Be back in a while, ciao!" Snapping away from her she strode away off down the room, her footsteps receding to leave the Destructix alone again. The vixen's mouth hung open, as she curled into herself again, burying her head between her knees.

Scourge broke the silence, just to make everything worse. "And here I was, thinking you could grow a fucking backbone."  
"I'm sorry..." Her shoulders shook, her tail winding around herself.  
"Don't give me that whiny 'sorry' crap. Couldn't even stick to your guns when it came to it - none of you could. Total bullshit...coulda done it better on my own."

"You couldn't even get a good hit on that kid." Simian spoke up. "How did you expect to take them all?"  
"I got ways, sarge. Knock queenie down and put a knife to her throat before Miles knows what's happening? Easy."  
"And what was stopping you from doing that this time?" Lightning asked. "You just attacked Miles, left us to our own devices, and that let them get the drop on us by individually taking the best matchups."  
"Hey, that 'ain't my fault. You guys couldn't pick so you let 'em do it for ya. Don't start pinning it on me just 'cause you can't think fast enough."  
"You didn't think at all, Scourge! I've seen more intelligence out of Frog!"  
"We didn't know how the Suppression Squad differed from their counterparts. You didn't tell us that, neither of you did!" The ape had about had enough of things with Scourge. He'd brought nothing but trouble. "We always lose against the Freedom Fighters, we couldn't even beat half of them in a surprise attack! And you thought we could attack sociopathic versions of them who don't care who they hurt completely half-cocked?"  
"Because you've got _me!_ " Visibly shaking with rage and under the scrutiny of the entire team bar Fiona and disbelieving that any of the blame was his, his temper was coming up full-force. "You've got someone twice as good as blue right here, and maybe I was thinkin' you sons-of-bitches could handle an overweight walrus, a rabbit on life support, and a washed-up pirate!"

"And what about Anima?" Finally Predator Hawk spoke up, his voice measured and calm. "You failed to anticipate her, and for that you were at their mercy just as much as we were. Look at yourself - doesn't matter how angry you get, you're still trapped in here same as us."  
"Not to mention that you couldn't land a hit yourself." Simian added. "He didn't do anything that his counterpart couldn't do. Is this the real you, Scourge? We've only really seen you fight Sonic, and you already know his moves, and a bunch of powerless goons in the Zone Jail. Judging by that performance, you could get your ass handed to you by _Tails._ "  
"Spiky can't play with the bi-ig boys!" Even Frog was happy to join in at this point.  
"Shut up!" Scourge roared, but the other Destructix continued to smirk at the idea of Scourge getting kicked around by a younger, weaker, slower fighter. "We'll see who's laughing when I get outta here and you don't!"

"Feel free." Lightning smirked. "We would love to see how the escape artist gets out of this one."  
"Says the ninja who got captured by a huge, noisy, slow-moving robot with a NIDS patient driving it."  
"And yet I'm not the one preaching to the choir about escaping, after being caught by the analogue of a kid."  
"Who is probably no stronger." Simian added.  
"Laugh it up, why don't ya." Scourge was certainly stupid, but he wasn't, well, totally moronic. Capture certainly hadn't made him any less determined to pound Miles' face into the ground, and he'd be damned if some tech-freak was going to stop him. "See ya later, maybe." With that he forced power into himself, Anarchy energy rippling through his body with enough force to make his molecular structure shake. Well, that was the idea...


	2. Chapter 2: Subversion

Slipping free of the bubble and its restraints, body still buzzing with energy, Scourge tapped his feet on the floor, flashing a grin at the others still caged. T'was good to be king. "So, how does that feel, asshats?" Sure he had to go take care of Miles and his goons now, but he absolutely could not resist the chance to riff on these guys before taking his leave. Stunned silence greeted him, a mixture of slack jaws, glaring eyes and Flying Frog, still happily giggling away.

"Scourge!" Fiona cried, suddenly active again. "Let me out! Please!"  
"Hah, sorry babe, no can do. You'll just slow me down right now - I'll come back for ya...might think about this lot too, but this one I've gotta take."  
"You can't take them alone, I can take out Alicia, get revenge for using my phobia against us! Please!"  
"Whee, I dunno..." Tilting back he rubbed against the back of his head, looking sideways at her. "You ain't the fastest...ah, why the fuck not. You're the only one out of these shit-stains that didn't actually get wiped out earlier." Sidling up to her sphere he shoved his arm into the nanites, rapidly charging once again and gripping her wrist, pulling her out roughly through the shield by the wrist. Wasn't much reason to let her go when he could take Alicia himself, but she was still a pretty prize.

"Thank you!" She gasped, panting for air as she recovered from briefly being intangible. Dragging her to her feet the hedgehog snorted, starting off down the room.  
"You ain't off the hook yet. Start with takin' care of that squirrel lady and her toy robot, and then maybe I'll think about lettin' ya off."  
"You...you won't just go without me, will you?"  
"Aww..." She was still so stuck to him; damn this was good! Girl wouldn't dare run off or do anything he didn't want her to. "Nah bae, I ain't leaving. I'll come get ya once I've stomped Miles into the ground."  
"Thank you." She smiled. "See you soon, baby?"  
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing." He didn't feel obligated to say anything more, speeding off and away. "OKay, Miles... I'm coming for your head!"

Screaming around a corner, he paused, running through where Miles would be. Scheming bastard always had big dreams...definitely the throne room, without a doubt, and by now he'd bet that the others had gone, leaving him alone. Perfect.  
Kicking into high gear again, the green hedgehog surged off towards the Throne Room. Hallways flashed by, following the pattern of the castle he'd been in before. Anima hadn't even bothered to rework the layout - apparently the fox had a nostalgic streak to him. This would be so damn easy - all he needed was to get the drop on him while Alicia wasn't around and it'd be a cakewalk.

" _Going somewhere?_ " Miles' voice echoed from several speakers. Sure those weren't there before.  
"Comin' to beat the ever-lovin' shit outta you, Miles!" He shouted as he walked, determined but already failing to stop Miles' taunt getting to him. "Hope you've got a good funeral plan!"  
" _As a matter of fact, I do, but I won't need it yet._ "  
"Will in a couple of minutes!"  
 _"Minutes, Scourge? You're getting slow."_  
"I'll show you slow!"  
" _Yes, you do that on a daily basis..._ " The fox sounded bored, like he was on the verge of falling asleep. Couldn't even stay awake for the guy who was going to kill him; how pathetic.  
"And when I'm done, I'll kick back on the throne with you as my footstool!"  
" _Well, this is a whole new side. I thought you only treated women as furniture. Sorry Scourge, but I'm not into that sort of thing, I'll have to pass._ "  
"Fuck you!"  
 _"I just said I'll pass."_

Shouting with impotent rage, Scourge accelerated, kicking the door to the throne room open. The room was completely empty.  
" _Oh, by the way, I'm in the Great Hall._ "  
Swearing in the most expert way possible, the hedgehog stomped over to the larger double-doors from the side chamber he'd emerged from, kicking the wooden obstacle open. "Miles!"

The fox is standing in the middle of the room, holding a microphone, which he set aside, grinning as the hedgehog scowled his way in. "So glad you finally took the hint. It's a nice thought, but you probably need more comrades."

"Them? Dead weight."  
"Don't you recall what happened last time? You lost, and I wasn't even trying."  
"Yeah, sure, whatever."  
"It'll be the same this time - I always had the upper hand between us."  
"Which is why I've kicked your ass over and over, right?" Scourge smirked. "Face it, Miles. You're just a kid who wants to be better than everyone else, 'cept you're never going to be! 'Specially not while Ice Queen's got you whipped. I mean seriously, all this power you think you have, and you're letting her be queen? If you were that great, you'd be king."  
"You know...I've been meaning to bring that up with you, but I never got the chance. Did you never consider how convenient all those successes were?" He frowned. "Of course you didn't, you're an idiot. I've never needed to be king."  
"Hold up, what the fuck?"  
"Come now, look at what the king does. It's a figurehead - meaningless in a modern society like this one. Perhaps it was sensible a few hundred years ago when everything was run from a single place, but these days it's essentially worthless."  
"How come?"  
"Because they all answer to me." The fox laughed darkly. "A king's power stems from the fact that everything is controlled by him - in this day and age, it is controlled by the companies and CEO executives, and through them the world is governed. Weren't you always so frustrated when they didn't do what you said? Well, that's because they were following different orders. I control the corporations, Scourge, and so I control this world. To take the crown I would have to renege on some many promises...do you realise how much power I would have had to give up, to be king?"

And it was all so true. over time Miles had built his network of contacts, drawing resources from Alicia's royal coffers or paying direct visits to bribe or threaten the necessary parties. Others were still unaware that they were under his sway, still firmly believing what they were doing came directly from their respective dictator or monarch. He'd spent a great deal of time securing which parts could run autonomously without his constant attentions, which parts required his direct intervention and which ones were to be pulled and pushed through another channel. regardless, it all came back to him no matter what path you followed.

As Miles smirked at him, however, Scourge charged, grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. Pinning him down the hedgehog slammed his fists down, meeting Miles' arms in a hurried block, jarring the downed fox to the bone. Namesakes flicking out, he slashed at his opponent's stomach, simultaneously kicking at him. The force of four concurrent impacts lifted Scourge off him and the hedgehog rolled, back flipping onto his feet and firing forward again before his foe could rise to his feet. His hand slamming out and up to deflect the incoming charge Miles stumbled, half-turning to give himself some extra time. it didn't work, his fellow adept hammering across his arm and away again, curving round in the wake of the attack for another strike. Shaking his head to clear it, he vanished into the ether for a second, warping himself into the air. Caught him off-guard...that wasn't supposed to happen. Showboating really had been a bad idea then. The hedgehog turned, speeding up a wall and other the ceiling, bombing towards him.  
He was still too fast to counter without an accelerator on...crossing his arms ahead of himself Miles called up a shield, an opaque barrier of Anarchy energy, Scourge slamming into it and forcing the two towards the ground in the middle of the room, the fox still firmly on the defensive. His tails whirled, halting his fall and carrying him back into the air, while Scourge landed on his feet with surprising grace.  
"Gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you didn't plan this one." The hedgehog chuckled.  
"I can allow for a few hits being taken. Even my contingencies have contingencies."  
"See, now that's a real waste of time."  
"I have a lot of time." Miles shrugged. "And it means that if anything goes wrong - some things do hinge on the actions of others, yourself included, after all - the plan still goes smoothly."  
"Betcha I can do something you 'ain't ready for."  
"If you can think of it, I've thought of it the week before, Scourge."  
"Let's find out, shall we?"

Stepping away from his opponent Scourge turned and ran, breaking off from the fight. The fox watched him a moment longer and then disappeared as he entered the throne room, catching onto the plan and heading to cut him off.  
The hedgehog rushed towards the throne, only for Miles to appear in his path, driving his fist into the speeding hedgehog's gut, staggering him enough to drive him back. "Going for the throne? You would have needed to think of that years ago."

* * *

Fiona carefully slipped through the darkened halls, pausing and ducking into a room to avoid a passing servant. Even with the castle controlled by a computer, there was evidently still the need for a few living staff members. About the fourth she'd run into now. The throne room was far below, and with it the fight between Miles and Scourge. Some interesting questions had been raised...amidst her molestation Alicia had hit nerves with Scourge, things that shouldn't have meant anything.

"Madam Alicia doesn't think there's any need for you to be skulking around in the corridors."

She froze, her wonderings grinding to a halt, as the passage was illuminated with an eerie violet glow, then slowly turned to see Anima materialising behind her. Her arms were folded being her back, her face unreadable.

"How long have you been following me?"  
"Since you left your cell. You are already going to her, so I will take you there. She wants to talk."  
"Talk, or molest?"  
"No comment, but you do not need to worry."  
"What if I don't want to come?"  
"You will. You're already going there."  
"How did you..."  
"I _can_ read your mind... but you're so simple that I didn't even need to. You are nothing if not predictable." Smiling softly, the lynx bowed; Miles prediction had been correct. "If you would please follow me, we will be there forthwith."  
"Fine..." Anima was already floating off down the corridor, so Fiona sighed and quietly followed.  
"To soften the imminent blow, the talk will take place in the Mistress' bedroom. Furthermore, she may have chosen to get changed."  
"You aren't making me feel any more relaxed about this."  
"Well, it's a good job I'm not trying to help you relax."

Fiona didn't try and answer that, nor did Anima offer anything more. She was clearly like Nicole, to the point and open, but that was about it. Otherwise she felt dead...missing something. They reached a staircase, covered in mauve carpet, and began to ascend.

"You guys like purple."  
"It is the colour of Anarchy Energy. It's only natural that the royal family would favour it." Entirely to the point again, with no real room for argument or conjecture. At the top of the stairs they continued only a short way to one of the inlaid doors, melting away at Anima's presence. "Enter."

Fiona nodded, stepping past Anima, and into the gloom of the queen's chambers, lit by a multitude of aromatic candles. The queen herself was relaxing on her back on the bed, a giant circle of cushion, looking up at the ceiling. "What do you think? I try to make the place feel homely."  
"It, uh, looks comfy." The vixen shrugged, scratching her head. A second later, the implications of what she had said hit, and the squirrel turned to face her, grinning. She sat up, and Fiona got a good look at the clothing she had changed into: A rather tight black dress, with a plunging neckline.

"If that's the case, why not come and try it out?"  
"U-uh..."  
"Oh, tongue-tied...that's so endearing." Slipping from the edge of the bed she slinked up to Fiona, stuck between her and the computer, and slid one arm around her shoulders. "Now now, no need to be afraid - everything you're feeling is natural and appreciated. Come on."  
Still confused as to how to respond she let the squirrel lead her forward, shuffling and tripping as she simultaneously tried to follow and refute the decision, finally numbly dropping down onto the edge of the bed as the suspected nymphomaniac perched herself by her side. "W-what are you...?"  
"Television?" She smiled suddenly, laughing in a way that for once didn't sound like that of a psycho. "Now come on dear, I'm looking forward to all this, but Miles and I both agree that you should probably know a few things about that ex-boyfriend of yours downstairs."  
"Ex-"  
"Presumptuous I know, but hear us out. Anima, could you get that...?"  
"At once, my Queen." She nodded. With a snap of her fingers, a screen rose up from the foot of the bed.  
"Thank you. Now go get the report."  
"Yes, my Queen."

"I don't...what is this?" Fiona's fear had just been replaced by total confusion, spun around by Alicia's words.  
"Oh Fifi, listen, I know it's really quite surprising, but Scourge is not as nice a guy as you think he is. Since I'm feeling generous, tell you what; once we've shown you what you need to see, you can choose to go with him - however he turns out - or stay here with me. Completely up to you."  
"But what are you trying to show me?"

Alicia's grin widened, and she picked up the screen's remote, pressing the 'Play' button.

"Only the security footage we got during Scourge's reign here. I would've gotten more, but this was more than enough."  
The screen flickered to life, each clip a few seconds to a minute long, each depicting some vile moment of Scourge's. In one, shoving his hand up a girl's skirt despite her protests, another, shouting abuse at a pair of women he'd picked up and subsequently raped. Yet more acts of sexual abuse or harassment flickered by.  
 _"Lady, you got a piece of this action; you do_ not _get to complain about it."  
"Damn, that is some sweet booty. I gotta bounce, stuff to do, but I'll see ya tomorrow, huh babes?"  
"Boys, last night was a-ma-zing. Count 'em six, six total, all off their tits. Bitches didn't even know I was double..triple...whatever, taking all of 'em."_  
She blocked them as best she could; these were just other girls - people she didn't know, ones who didn't matter. No one was perfect, people made mistakes; they got over it and moved on. You couldn't just assume your boyfriend was completely clean. Scourge had to have had previous partners and flings, so no harm no foul, right?

 _"You're really as wicked as they say, aren't they?"_ Her eyes were riveted to the screen at that voice. She knew it well, and there was no love lost. The image was the castle gates, the offending hedgehog strolling into the castle with some bimbo on his arm...except it wasn't just anyone. The attire wasn't quite the same, but it was definitely her. If you looked past the fishnet stockings, low-cut top and over-abundance of make-up, the wings and the ears were still there. Rouge...or whatever this version of her was. She was practically on top of him, and he wasn't being too cold either.  
 _"Is that even a question? You do know who I am, right? Only guy who can give you anything you want, all night long?"_ Now that sounded familiar.  
 _Oh, I know Scourge the Hedgehog. I know the king is top dog and gets to do what he wants. I know he can show a girl just how good the darkness can be."  
"Girl, I am as bad as they come in this joint, no joke. You want a real adventure, you won't find better,"_ The lines were almost identical...  
 _"I'll be the judge of that - you think you can keep your promise to me, big boy?"  
"Which one, the mountain of jewels or a night you'll be screamin' about?"  
"Let's start with the one you sure as hell can do."  
"Baby, listen, you are not gonna sleep tonight."_ That fucker...if you didn't count the slight variances in the person he was with, some of those were the pick-up lines he'd used on her.

Fiona just sat there, tight-lipped and silently fuming as more images and bad chat-up lines flashed by, all suddenly sharp and clear with that one brief moment. "They're all like this, aren't they?" It came out as a whisper.  
"'Fraid so, hun." Alicia lamented dramatically. "Fifi, I know it's not the best way to find out, from someone else, but we did think it best that you know."  
"You mentioned a report..."  
"Oh, yes, that's one you definitely have to read, but just brace yourself."

Anima rematerialized a few seconds later, holding what looked like an ordinary file. She handed it over, then sat next to Alicia, the pair watching Fiona as she held it.  
 **[Autopsy Report #6784: Anna Violet Fox].**  
 _Age: 16  
Sex: Female  
Date: 15/10/3231  
Time of Death: 22:37  
Circumstance: Murder  
Cause of Death: Exsanguination due to multiple knife wounds.  
Subject was found near-death in the fourth alley off of Spar Street, expired shortly after discovery by Witness 1: Miles Amadeus Prower. Body was battered, having suffered blunt-force trauma from both fists and some kind of blunt instrument, likely a bat. Both legs were broken, likely to prevent escape, while both arms had sustainted several defensive injuries. A multitude of deep knife-wounds had been dealt, one of these with Object A: Switchblade still embedded in it. Both lungs were collapsed, heart and liver pierced, stomach slashed open. The severe blood loss this resulted in killed the patient, brain death occuring moments later. Witness 1 attempted to perform healing via Anarchy Energy, but the loss of blood was too great, and the victim passed away soon afterwards. Within minutes, Suspect: Sonic "Scourge" Hedgehog had arrived on the scene. Suspect taunted Witness 1, confessed to killing Subject himself, and taking pleasure in it, then proceeded to kick Witness to the ground, retrieve Object A, and slice it across Witness' throat, narrowly avoiding the jugular. Suspect proceeded to use Subject's torn-off clothing to wipe Object A clean, and-_

Fiona stopped reading, setting the paper aside, bile rising in her throat. Quickly, Anima picked up a nearby bin, and passed it to her, Alicia rubbing her shoulders gently.

"Alright, Fifi, just let it come..." The squirrel cooed. Combined with the recent confinement in Anima's cell, it was too much and she retched into the container, coughing at the taste of stomach acid.  
"W-why...?" She spluttered, barely.  
"That's the kind of person Scourge is, Fifi. You know who the person in that report is."  
"She's me. From this world. Violet was the name of my mother..."  
"Then believe me when I say none of us want that to happen to you, but we can protect you from him if you'd like."  
"Why? Why do you care so much? It can't just be because you want me as a toy..."  
"Well we do all have our priorities dear, but you're right all the same. You see, Miles and I both do miss Anna..." Patting her cheek, Alicia once again flopped backwards onto the bed. "We could keep you safe here."

Fiona stared at her for a moment. Staying with Scourge was out of the question now, after seeing what he had been up to. However, Alicia's intentions for her were less than stellar, and something about being treated as a replacement for a dead girl seemed outright wrong. And yet, she had no other options that she felt she could easily take. If she went back to Mobius, she'd be easy prey for Finitevus, and her former team-mates.

"Okay..." She just couldn't get a better way out of this.  
"That's brilliant, Fifi. Don't worry, this place will grow on you, just give it time. Now, Anima, I want you to clean her up, and get her into something less... Scourge-ish. I'll get rid of this stuff."

* * *

Below them, the two Adepts were still locked in combat. Even with Scourge's surprise attack Miles was still a proficient combatant, but he'd been all-but denied the option of dodging, now having to do everything he could to keep the hedgehog from the throne, no easy task when his opponent was almost capable of outspeeding his warping abilities.  
"Come on Miles, be a buddy and get the fuck outta my way!" The insufferable banter had continued throughout the fight.  
"And I should do that because...?"  
"Because then I might not break all your limbs when I get there!"  
"Except you're not going to get there."  
"Ya say that about a lot a things, but they're all dead too!"

Eyes narrowing, he blasted Scourge into a wall, shattering the stone as the hedgehog peeled himself out, clicking his back and trying to laugh in an attempt to still sound on top. Not fooled, Miles snapped his fingers, several more spears forming above him. Glancing up Scourge caught sight and glowered, a smirk appearing on his features. "That all you got?"  
"It's all I need." With a gesture of the wrist they shot forward, cutting the air towards the hedgehog. A moment's pause more and Scourge launched forward, a split-second decision with their explosions blossoming behind him. Forgetting the ache in his back from the landing for a moment he threw himself forwards, arms outstretched to fasten around Miles' shoulders before he could react. Falling backwards he repeated his previous routine, drawing both feet in and kicking up out of instinct. The impact threw Scourge off of him again...past and over, still carrying enough momentum for forward motion. Accelerating in the air, he blasted himself forward, and came to a rest on the throne itself.

"Thanks, freak!"  
Igniting with brilliant purple flame the hedgehog's fur soured to the same colour, bristling as his spines sharpened and reshaped, curving upwards. His eyes pulsed, dilated and emptied of colour into a deep blackness centred by a ring of crimson. Brimming with energy and now deep within the throes of a super transformation Scourge sat back on the throne, punching the air and roaring an animalistic shout as he stopped caring about the few moral inhibitions he had. "Hail to the fucking _king_ baby!" This wasn't good at all. The fox had just reacted as he would have done anyway, and in this instance instinct had been his downfall.  
"We'll see about that." Miles just disappeared. His plan had failed and he wasn't about to take his chances against Scourge at this level, even if he accounted for who he was fighting. He had other contingencies, and now they would come into effect. Scowling at Miles' flight and cursing him as a coward, the hedgehog sat back, resting his cheek on his fist, his first victim's face forming in his mind.


	3. Chapter 3: Uneasy Alliance

That had gone downhill faster than expected, but no matter. He'd anticipated that Scourge would at some point obtain a Super form with this objective in mind, but he'd expected to be at a point where he was far better positioned to stop him soon. As of now, he had few options, and other tasks to attend to. It wasn't just as simple as launching straight into one of his other plans - he had people in the castle, his wife and Fiona, both individuals he wasn't about to leave here. If they escaped they couldn't help Anima's nanites, but the palmtop would suffice.  
His emergency warp took him straight to the bedroom, its location easy enough to remember, what with the frequent visits to it and whatnot, popping back into reality as the vixen was busy trying on a pile of clothes.

"We need to leave, now."  
"What? Why?" Fiona jumped at his sudden appearance, however used to teleportation she was.  
"Scourge got to the throne." It didn't mean anything to the fox-girl, but the queen understood, waving Anima over and gesturing for Fiona to stop messing around with clothes.  
"Shit! How did you let that happen?" It didn't mean she liked it.  
"Bad luck."  
"Figures..." She groaned.  
"What's bad about the throne?"  
"It was full of Anarchy Beryls."  
"Wait, you guys didn't have that removed?"  
"You knew?"  
"Who do you think suggested Scourge put them there?" She shrugged. "It...seemed a good idea at the time."  
"Doesn't matter now." It had happened, and now Miles' priority was resolving it. They needed to leave soon so he could do just that, and he would need Fiona for it to work.  
"Can you take all four of us with one jump?" The vixen asked, pulling the nearest outfit on.

"No, I can't. Anima, get Alicia to the bunker. Fiona, you're with me."  
"Wait, what?" Fiona asked.  
"Fifi, it's alright. It's all part of the plan. The bunker is made of Morganite, so he won't be able to get in, but Miles needs you for his plan. Neither Anima or I can help in that respect." Alicia said, hugging her quasi-captive. "We'll be fine."  
"But...what am I meant to be doing?"  
"There's no time to explain." Miles replied, grabbing her wrist and flaring up energy around the pair of them.  
"Wait." Alicia cut in, before quickly kissing both foxes. "Good luck."  
"Hello!" There wasn't any time for further hugs and farewells - finally cottoning on to where Miles had run off to Scourge appeared, ripping through the wall in an unecessary show of violence, burning with Anarchy. Before he could make his move both adept and AI grabbed a hold of their respective partners and were gone, disappearing just as suddenly as he had arrived and leaving him decidedly miffed.

* * *

In the middle of a wasteland, several miles from the castle, Miles dropped into the physical realm again, while Fiona collapsed, nausea enveloping her for the second time in as many hours.  
"It'll pass. We have somewhere to be."  
"Thanks for the sympathy. You're not going to help Alicia's attempts to get me to stay."  
"You were trying on her clothes. You've made your choice." He looked around as they spoke, orienting himself with the landmarks and deciding on a direction. "For now, time is of the essence and is more important to preserve than goodwill."  
"An "Are you alright, Fiona?" would have sufficed..."

Picking herself up, the vixen dusted off her new attire, and sighed. Looking down as she fell into step behind Miles, she got a look at the outfit in daylight for the first time. To her surprise, it was rather modest- Black leggings, a blue tube-top, not unlike Bunnie's, now that she looked at herself, and gold trim on both parts, finished off with the same white boots and gloves that Alicia was so fond of, but then the memory of being called a doll as she started to try the outfits on came back.  
"You'll have to excuse me, but my wife, my digital daughter, and my planet are at stake."  
"Wait, daughter? Come on, you can explain while we're walking."  
"Very well - I see no harm in you knowing. It should be evident I'm with Alicia, but unfortunately for her I have little interest in sexual relations. She copes with it in her own way, but I nevertheless do entertain ideas of a family." Nodding his head either side, he weighed his words. "Anima is the employment of my talents to that end. I wrote her programming, while Alicia designed her appearance."  
"That's... actually rather sweet." She mused, smiling faintly. "Come on, let's go and save them."  
"Quite the about-turn..."  
"Family is a big deal for me. I lost mine, and I don't want to see anyone else lose theirs."  
"You do her credit." he smiled wistfully, looking away to hide his expression.  
"Who?"  
"Anna."  
"I... You and her... you were like Tails and I, weren't you?"

Despite his cold and aloof exterior, this was quickly becoming a topic of conversation the male fox was not interested in. "Indeed." He had fond memories of Anna, all of them bloodied by Scourge and painful to remember.  
"Sorry, I'm trespassing where I shouldn't..."  
"It is within your right to ask, but you must understand that it is not something I enjoy discussing."  
"I understand."  
"Thank you."

"So..." She decided to change the subject. "WHat's our first stop?"  
"Another Beryl Cache. Regardless of my intentions, I will be unable to stop Scourge while he has access to a decent stash, and so I need my own. That will solve the immediate difference of strength between us."  
"I don't think so... You're the same strength as Tails, right?"  
"Yes, we fight differently, but our power is nigh-identical."  
"Well, Sonic's stronger than Tails. And Scourge is stronger than Sonic."  
"I'm aware of that. That's where part two comes in. But first..."

Miles held up his hand, prompting Fiona to stop, then pushed it forward. Black fire ignited around his fingers, and the ground rumbled ominously. Then it yawned open, revealing a set of seven purple stones, glowing in the dark.  
"How did you..."  
"Part of my training involved mastering the Ixian arts. It's very easy to hide Beryl when you can make the ground swallow it." Reaching down and plucking them out by hand, he inspected each one carefully before crushing it in his palm, spiriting it away to a temporary holding pen. "Even better when an adept attempts to retrieve them using any form of power beyond my own spell to unlock it - the Beryls explode."  
"Wow..."  
"Indeed. Now, I'm going to need to teleport us again."  
"Why are all of your plans stored so inconveniently?"  
"I'm afraid that this was the nearest Beryl cache, and the final ingredient cannot be moved by my hands."  
"And that's why you need me..."  
"Indeed. I'll explain when we get there."

He took her hand again and they shimmered away, travelling yet further from the caste and deep into a river valley, returning to reality along its banks. Braced this time for the transit Fiona weathered marginally better, collapsing to her knees, chest heaving, staring down through the water at the silt and dust of the riverbed.

"You alright?"  
"Yeah, I'll be okay." She chuckled at the irony, then rocked back to her feet. Looking around Miles was already moving away towards the rock face, his hand aglow with the blackish aura once again, waving it across the sheer surface. With another crack, it split open, revealing a passage. One surprise after another. "Is the whole planet like this?"  
"Only the parts where we wanted to hide something. This is one of the best kept secrets."

He led on, casting a purple flame from his hand to illuminate the passage. Following behind him, Fiona examined the walls, which were enscribed with ancient text.

"I recognise this language..." She squinted, twisting her head to the side. "Well, I do if I read it backwards..." Stopping to decipher the language, she started back. "It's a warning...this whole wall is a warning...Miles, what is this place...?"  
"A vault."  
"You didn't create this place, not like the others... Who did?"  
"A mage, predating the first acolytes of Ixian magic. The entire cave has been carved into one giant ward against the artefact it was designed to shelter. There..." He pointed, jabbing a finger at a symbol not aligned with the rest of the words, "there," another, "and so on. It was an attempt to stop others stumbling across it, but he didn't anticipate the founding of the Ixian Magicks. I found it, and re-sealed it until now."  
"What is it?"  
"The inscriptions refer to it as 'The Blade of Shadows', carved out of meteoric metal by a cult to the god Mephiles." The legend was very old, heralding from well beyond civilisation on Moebius. In reverence to the god of time, the cult had created the sword, and then on a whim the god himself had imbued it with power, becoming an unbreakable tool for the user to warp the timestream to a limited degree around itself.  
"That's... creepy..."  
"It's currently the only tool available to beat Scourge on a short deadline."  
"That's true... Let's go for it, then."

"There is...one condition." he lamented, halting before a final set of stone doors. "The mage didn't account for Ixian arts, but he did account for Moebians. I can't take the sword from its resting place - no one on this planet can."  
"Why would he do that?"  
"He believed the sword too powerful for anyone to be allowed to use."  
"How powerful is it?"  
"It can control time." Waving his hands across the door it too slid open, retracting into the wall, and revealing the chamber. Beyond the doors the walls were no longer that of a cave, instead taking on the shape of a smooth cylinder cut away, the warnings no longer present within and instead replaced by eerily-glowing runes of all shapes and sizes. a raised pathway along the centre forming a place to step. At the end it further widened into a cavern, or more appropriately a massive sphere, steps descending from the edge towards the centre where the item in question lay.  
"Time?" Fiona paused. "That's insane, now I know why he sealed it away..."  
"In this instance it is the lesser of two evils."  
"I don't think so... You've got those Beryls, you can fight Scourge off normally."

"No, I can't." He stepped forward, beginning his walk to the blade, an unremarkable deep black sword driven into a black cube of granite. "Physically Scourge outclasses me, and even accounting for my magic he has the advantage. I need this to tip the scales." He could feel that morality was about to get in the way - revealing the sword's story had been a mistake.  
"You can teleport, and he doesn't do long-range fighting. Even if he decides to try it, he's got no experience, and shit aim. Just keep your distance and throw spears, blasts, and spells at him."  
"He outspeeds me - he can get close even if I keep teleporting, and eventually he will cotton on to the possibility of doing that too."  
"Not if you keep hitting him, or use a lightning spell! He'll still be reeling while you line up another hit."  
"Then you underestimate what the transformation can do, and just how infuriatingly resilient Scourge can be." He stopped trying to explain - he could see far enough ahead to know that if they continued along this vein, they would get nowhere. In this time they were taking Scourge could already be freeing his more intelligent team-mates for a way to locate and breach the morganite bunker.

"Fiona, as I am now, he outclasses me in some way or another, though I am loathe to admit it. My other option, a sword made of Morganite, is still under construction and isn't in a position to be used. Attempting to progress to a second stage of transformation is also unrealistic - I lack sufficient time to locate another stash, just as I lack the time to argue with you about this weapon. I apologise, in advance."  
"For..." The fox-girl halted, anxious, but didn't take the crucial step backwards.  
"This." Miles spin, hand outstretched, clamping it across the side of her head as magic suffused her skull, his spare hand scribing shapes in the air. "I don't have time for objections." Slaving her consciousness to his the magic suppressed her mind, passing control to the magician without question for the duration of the spell. It took effect almost immediately, her expression falling numb and now-purple eyes drooping. He drew his hand back, exposing a glowing mark, shaped like a mauve diamond, shining from her forehead.  
"I... understand..."  
"Now, take the sword."  
"Yes... Master..."

Fiona shuffled forward, climbing up the pedestal, and approached the blade. As her fingers closed around the hilt, an eye-like stone lit up at the base of the blade. Even after so long the potential hidden within the sword still recognised a wielder, more than willing to accept the hand of anyone who could retrieve it from this prison. Tugging on it, the weapon slipped free, resting comfortably in her palm, a black aura enveloping the blade.  
"Now, pass it to me."  
Moving away and returning it to him she passed it over, hilt first, the stone tugged and jerked in the air, shifting in its base and looking around as the exchange was made. Actively it resisted the wards of the chamber, fighting against the room's attempts to prevent a Moebian holding it even after the primary spell had been broken.

"Ah... perfect. Thank you, Fiona." Holding it out to his side he ran a finger along its length, appreciating very briefly the craftsmanship. He didn't feel any different - merely possessing the sword didn't seem to cause any immediate change, but the trial and error that would be required to learn it with certainty would once again take too long. He would have to find out during the fight. For a moment, he turned to face the vixen at his side, a pang of what might have been guilt aching in his stomach. He could release her now, but that would lead to an argument that he didn't have time for. Still, he had used this spell in the past, and it had never illicited such a response from him, nor had the resultant shambling drone been so unnerving. A moment's more thought then he gestured, a complex series of finger movements. It was too uncomfortable...he would give her back her personality, but she would not be able to disobey.

Fiona rubbed her head, blinking repeatedly, as her eyes re-focused on his own. her posture relaxed, and her tail started to sway again.  
"Okay, we're sorted, then? We'd best get back to the castle, and save Alicia and Anima." She said. He could still see the magic in her eyes - his spell was working, and at this level, drawing so much from the original host, it would last plenty long to see this problem through to its conclusion.  
"Indeed. Once Scourge has been dealt with any other issues can be resolved."  
"Me included, right?"  
"Yes, but in due time." Leading her from the cave, the doors sealing behind them he paused on the bank of the river once again, plucking the beryls from their holding pen. "When we return to the castle, I would suggest going to Alicia's room again. Anima will have repaired the damage, and Scourge will be too busy with me now I'm prepared."  
"Why don't I go and make sure everyone else is alright?"  
"The bunker can't be reached through standard means, a security measure."  
"What about the other members of the Squad?"  
"Scourge will need an audience." The hubris of his opponent was something to be lauded; he needed people watching him when he won this, for the subsequent ego-trip, but wouldn't let them join in, however useful they may or may not be. "Stay well away from the throne room, and you will not be harmed."  
"I understand." She nodded. "Anything else?"

"Brace yourself for the return trip."  
"Understood."  
Gripping her hand again they made the jump for the third and final time they teleported away back to within the castle grounds, reappearing just within the main doors, enough space between them and the throne room for a brief breather before the stumbles again, rubbing her stomach. "I will _never_ get used to that..."

"With any luck, you won't need to. I doubt you'll be going too far from here anymore." Moving away from her and towards the throne room, the fox called the emeralds up into service around him, beginning a slow rotation around his head as he tested the balance of the sword he held.  
"I understand. Good luck, Miles." With that Fiona left him, setting off her own way through the castle, up towards the bedroom, not entirely sure what to do once she got there.

Below her, Miles absorbed the Beryls into himself once again, this time drawing upon their power in full. As his fur whitened in shade and eyes light up with violet fire, tails bristling and stiffening into spikes, he drew in upon his magic. Glowing, three-dimensional runes coalesced around him in dancing patterns, elevating the potency of his magic to beyond what he could achieve with just his personal reserves. A set of Anarchy Beryls, the Blade of Shadows, and the Ixian arts at his disposal. Now the fight seemed possible. Taking a deep breath, he shoved the doors to the throne room open.  
"Scourge!" His predictions had been correct - since returning to the throne the hedgehog had gone to the trouble to free his comrades, now arrayed either side of the ornate chair, startled as Miles entered the room.

"That's the na-"  
"Please, just don't finish that..." Levelling the sword at his opponent he sighed emphatically. "Just get off the chair and fight me."  
"What's with the big letter-opener?"  
Not deigning to engage in a verbal battle with this lesser life form the fox stepped forward, changing his stance and slinging a fireball at his foe with his free hand, the shot sailing through the air and immolating the throne as the hedgehog jetted skyward, hanging in the air above it.

"Not cool, dude." Scourge groaned. "We both need that thing."  
"It can be rebuilt. You, on the other hand..."


	4. Chapter 4: Impeachment

Ultimately, nothing could really change what happened now. Anima had Alicia safe and Fiona was well away from the combat, and even with the castle built of nanite construction it would be hard-pressed to give him even a minor advantage against Scourge now. His teammates freed and throne achieved the Moebian was all set to resume his tyrannical reign of the planet, and yet he was still so very blind. He still failed to see how outdated he really was, in ideology and in station; monarchy meant little to nothing now, and the age was gone when people like him could live freely, even on Moebius. When a world was given enough time it developed standards - the fox would be in no hurry to say he was a paragon of all that was just and good, but he could still stand with innumerable others who would claim to possess some semblance of morality.

Miles made the first move, catching Scourge flat-footed and cutting the distance between them in half with a sizzling volley of Ixian fireballs, each glowing as a flare and obscuring his advance, drawn from his own reserves and hurled by kinetic impulse. Each one cut towards Scourge and was swatted aside time and again, and as the final one exploded viciously the fox pulled up short, cartwheeling in the air as a return volley of Anarchy bolts hammered overhead, their heat blazing across his face. The hedgehog certainly wasn't ingenious or even remotely intelligent, but given enough time it seemed even dumb animals could have a half-decent idea, the wisps of fire blowing themselves out beneath the glow of an eighth Anarchy Beryl, clutched in Scourge's outstretched hand. Two of them; the second fist had another balled within.

"I had a coupla spares." He smirked, curling up and dashing towards Miles. Crossing his sword ahead of him the fox met the attack head on, sparks flying as two energies crashed until he swayed to one side, driving against the other and sending Scourge careening past him into open air, the pair wheeling once again.  
"It appears I've misjudged you - you seem to possess a brain, you're just stupid."  
"I'm the one in charge here, ain't I? Let's be honest, before, I mighta just beaten you up. But now? I'm gonna enjoy what I've got in store."  
"Don't kid yourself. You're not in charge - you couldn't train a pet rock to sit still."  
"Broke Fiona in, didn't I?"  
"And yet...she was less than impressed with your performance with Ruby. She sends her regards."  
"Dude, that's the thing. I got her under my thumb, and she didn't ask any pressing questions. I got an ace over blue and your wimpy alter-ego, and I still got all the ladies comin' back with me."  
"Check again, you sorry excuse for a Moebian," Miles grinned, levelling his blade once again. This was just so precious; his naivete was that of a child. "Fiona is safe in the bunker, and very happy not to be leaving with you."  
"Wrong again, freak. That bunker ain't safe. They've got to come out for food sometime, after all."

"And when they do...you'll be long gone." The fox shimmered, and disappeared, Scourge spinning in anticipation of a blade in the back. Nothing. Agony flared across his chest as the Sword of Shadows flowered from his stomach, deftly punching through his back and emerging between the two scars as the fox reappeared, suspended behind him in the air. With magic and Anarchy energy the two were interchangeable - though the exact spells and abilities never exactly crossed paths, when you crossed paths with one such as this imbecile who didn't know the difference, deception became so much easier. Invisibility did look like a teleport if you were looking for the wrong one.

"Think this will keep me down?"  
"No." Clamping his palm over his opponent's head he let loose a blast of force, ripping him from the sword and pounding him into the nanite stonework, letting him settle in his impact crater. "But I wasn't counting on that."  
"You're full of fuckin' surprises..."  
"It pays to have a lot of tricks up one's sleeve." This was going to get very boring very quickly if Scourge couldn't keep up, but then again, in a situation like this, boring was good. Unfortunately, if there was one thing Scourge was good at, it was keeping up with a fight. He was nothing if not persistent, after all, doggedly so.

True to form, the hedgehog was stumbling to his feet, willing his injuries to heal. Another hole in the chest, a compressed skull and several blunt trauma injuries from being thrown into a wall...not bad for an opening gambit. The fox hung in the air above him, watching his every move as he replenished his own energy stores. Abruptly Scourge whirled to face him, streaming a cascade of needles up towards him, the fox dropping altitude and shunting sideways to evade the sudden volley. Of course...the Beryls... He'd have to separate Scourge from those quickly.  
"All of that confidence seems to have evaporated, Scourge."

"Not really. You've still got zero chance of killing me. Dude, I just took a sword to the chest and barely slowed down!"  
"You're still shaking."  
"You're still pathetic!"  
"I hope that's not the best you can come up with, or you may have just lowered the IQ score of the room by a few orders of magnitude."

Scourge didn't verbalise a response, instead choosing to charge forward, curling into a spin. Still waiting for his reserves to replenish, Miles swung the sword wide, catching the hedgehog halfway and smacking him out of range once again - he needed as much energy as possible at any one time, and he wasn't about to waste it like that.

"That all? You didn't even get me with the edge!" He grinned, rebounding off the wall and the ceiling to boost towards him.  
"I wasn't aiming to." Able to see his opponent, Scourge saw the next stroke coming, a draw-cut across the torso, as choreographed as they came, and he adjusted, flattening to slide under the strike, and directly into the fox's incoming tails, perfectly placed as part of the feint. The appendages sharpened and bristling they sliced into his skin, barbed as hooks and bringing him up short enough for a foot to connect with his chest, knocking the wind from him and sending him away, one of the additional Beryls slipping from his grasp. Instinct reacting faster than his actual brain an Anarchy spear flashed from the other still gripped, meeting the gem in mid-air as Miles caught onto the act. The crystal exploded before anything could be done about it, shards of compressed Anarchy burying themselves across his torso, light flaring in the wounds. He felt the impact and curled against it, straightening even with the fragments digging into his skin, refusing to show even the slightest failure in his will.

"Damn, I needed that..." Scourge groaned, glaring at his longtime foe.  
"It would now appear that I have it...most of it anyway." Reaching down he plucked at the shards nonchalantly, letting each wound seal itself shut as he discarded the fragments by way of the floor. "It's a nice present, but it isn't my birthday."  
"Close enough to new year?" He spat, warming up another Spear.  
"I suppose it'll do, but you'd better not be stopping for dinner."  
"Bitch please, everyone in this place is a shit cook, and Ice Queen won't stop shovelling down those chili-whoosits. What, does she think the heat'll make her less frigid or something?"  
"I always thought it was because she enjoyed the look on your face." Miles shrugged. "Besides, a woman isn't frigid for refusing sex with you. She just has good taste."  
"Doesn't really matter; there's hotter tail anyway."  
"Then why do you keep harping on about it?"  
"Come on ol' buddy, I'm just wonderin' why, when there's clearly better ass, and you're real smart, that you keep chasing after one bitch with more issues than Fiona."  
"For the record, I don't. The physical aspect of our relationship is primarily her pursuing me. It happens very rarely, simply because I am far too busy to engage with that, and with you absent, I lack the need to relieve stress."  
"And I thought you were boring before..."

* * *

Girlfriends and sexual conquest aside, Miles had done a sterling job of keeping Fiona well away from Scourge as the fight begun. She had quietly made her way to Alicia's otherwise empty room, the spell keeping all thoughts of witnessing Scourge's demise locked away. Frankly, the spell's influence was so subtle her consciousness barely noticed its presence - her real personality had yet to realise it was being controlled. Still, without anything or anyone to interact with, she sat down on the bed, and waited. Unable to consider the fight below she began to consider Alicia and Anima, stowed away in a bunker in who-knows-where. Miles had never alluded to the location, just that it was safe from adepts and impossible to get to through regular means.

"Anima, can you hear me?"  
 _"Of course I can; I'm the castle."_ Her voice floated out of nowhere. _"My apologies, but I cannot appear in person."_  
"You can teleport people in and out of the bunker, right?"  
 _"I can, but it will take longer to recalculate the power distribution, with the interference being thrown up by the Morganite."_  
"I've got time to wait."  
 _"I assume Miles is safe?"_  
"He's fighting Scourge, but he seems to hold an advantage."  
 _"And you? Are you uninjured?"_  
"A little nausea and headaches from the teleporting, but I'm fine."  
 _"Then we should get you in here. Madam Alicia is waiting."_  
"Ready when you are."

Even knowing it was coming, the additional teleportation caught her off-guard, yanked through the air by a ring matrix de-constructing her anatomy and reassembling it a moment later. The transition was yet more jarring and she collapsed onto a padded floor, stomach feeling like it had just been kicked upside down.  
"Ungh... and now I feel sick again..."  
"Oh, no, no Anima, now Fifi is unwell..."

Alicia approached the prone vixen, and scooped her up, before carrying her over to a chair. Depositing her into plush leather with the delicacy of a crystal trophy she peered over here, frowning with a look of...unnerving concern on her features.  
"Fifi... Did Miles do anything strange out there?"  
"Strange...?"  
"Did he say or do anything that seemed... abnormal for him?"  
"Well...no...what's normal for him?"  
"It's... it's dificult to explain... but Fifi, honey... Your eyes and forehead are glowing."  
"W-what..." Panic filled her stomach as her hands went to her face, pressing futilely against her cheeks in confusion. "I don't..."  
"You didn't want to pull the sword up for him, did you?"  
"Well...we...we needed it..."  
"You don't believe that. That's a thought that he put in your head..."

"We need to beat Scourge and there aren't any other options...I don't feel any different..." Desperately she tried to rationalise the decision. It made sense, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't quite right.  
"Honey, listen to me. You and Miles must've had an argument, and since he felt so pressed, he decided to enforce his opinion on you." Alicia sighed. "He's almost certainly feeling guilty about it, hence why you're acting like you and not like a drone or something, and he'll apologize later, but right now, you're under a spell."  
"Why...I thought you people cared about me..."  
"We do, Fiona." Alicia sighed. Using the vixen's real name was probably a good idea now. "Miles wouldn't want that sword unless he was absolutely certain that he needed it. If he didn't care, he would've turned you into a slave the moment he got the chance, but instead, we chose to help you."  
"What am I, just some puppet for you people?"  
"No, not at all. We care about you, and Miles will probably make a huge apology. Controlling you was a necessary evil, but that's the way these things work here."

She came from prison into Scourge's lecherous clutches to become another of his spree of girlfriends, and this was where it had deposited her...at the feet of people who wouldn't hesitate to wrap her round their collective little finger to get what they wanted. It was just another abusive, manipulative master or mistress with the omission of the abuse...and the best bit? There wasn't anywhere else to go. This was it; end of the line, final stop. This is what everyone, everything wanted for her apparently.  
"He doesn't need to...I've earned this."  
"Say what?"  
"I've wasted my life, made all of the wrong choices... I don't deserve anymore than this..."

Well, either Miles had handed her an early present or this had just fallen into her lap. "Well now, there's no need to mope about it. Let's get you some clothes and a meal, Fifi." It wasn't immediately clear, but if she wasn't mistaken Fiona had just handed herself over willingly.  
"As you wish..." Fiona nodded. "Should I call you by some sort of title?"  
"You know..." The queen tapped a finger to her lip, "how about mistress, but you can call me Ally when we're in private, Fifi."  
"Yes, Mistress." Fiona sighed, bowing her head for a moment.  
"It'll be alright, hun." She smiled, pulling her into a gentle embrace. "We'll take good care of you."  
This was it. "Thank you...mistress..."  
"Good girl."

* * *

One surrender, one fight still being waged. Though Fiona was now safely out of harm's way, Miles own fate still hung in the balance. Where he employed strategy Scourge made use of brute force, strike after strike time and again, drawing the fight out over a prolonged period. Ultimately the two were on more or less even footing - though Scourge lacked even a modicum of Sonic's own resourcefulness and Miles was every inch a more dangerous version of his counterpart, they were both limited by strength and their energy reserves. With his opponent burning up energy with every attack the fox had shifted into a conservative, defensive strategy, minimising the amount of power he had to use to counter each strike and then retaliating with the sword when it got too close to call. Problem was, he'd underestimated just how much stamina Scourge had, and how much adrenalin was pumping through him. Sure enough the battle had taken its toll and both were beginning to look a little more worse for wear, but it was happening far too slowly.

"You're almost makin' me break a sweat!" The hedgehog jeered, swinging another vicious blow at his head. Leaning back under it, once again despondent at the hedgehog not understand the concept of three-dimensional combat, the fox didn't retort. His unimpressed, almost uncaring expression had said all he wanted for the entire fight. "The banter, on the other hand... you just suck at it!"  
Maintaining his silence, he thrust the sword forward. Infuriating Scourge through silence was actually almost fun. The hedgehog jinked around the attack, aiming a kick at his midsection. Taking the impact in his stride the fox crumpled against the blow, clamping a free hand against his aggressor's shoe, his hand lighting up with magical energy, a rune burning into the surface of the footwear. Grunting with pain, Scourge pulled himself away, clutching at his foot, energy within eating away at his shoe and then the skin behind it.

"What the hell did you do?!"  
Once again, the fox remained quiet, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smirk.  
"Come on, what is this shit!?"  
The hedgehog genuinely entering a state of panic Miles could see where this was going, his opponent glancing rapidly between him and the limb, hands still clutching his limb being chewed away. Ignorance wasn't always bliss, it seemed. he paused, a moment more until Scourge's eyes were once again away before disappearing, a flash of light ripping him through the air and into his foe, sword descending and passing through the damaged limb. Energy burst and popped from the wound drawing the two from each other, everything below the knee withering away into nothing as the hedgehog let out a howl and his leg begun the rapid process of regenerating. He threw a shaky barrier between the two of them, waiting for the limb to properly reform.  
"You - you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Miles still refused to speak, circling his opponent, waking for the shield to fall. Scourge wouldn't hang back forever - he couldn't stand playing defensive.

"Say something!" The hedgehog roared, lunging again. Swatting aside his outstretched hand with the sword Miles drove him sideways, deliving a hammer-blow to his shoulder with an added burst of kinetic force, pinging him away into open space, cursing and spinning. He could hear his opponent's exertion taking its too - they'd been fighting long enough for both to be growing tired by this point, and though he wasn't showing it he too was beginning to run low. Scourge managed to right himself, and attacked again, triggering Anarchy Control to warp past Miles' defences, hand wrapping round his foe's throat.  
This was just about as much as he could stand of Miles obnoxious silence, too scared or something like that. His hand lit up like a sun, dragging as much energy into it as he could. If he wasn't gonna talk, he'd just have to hit him so hard he screamed!

 _" **How...disappointing.** "_ The voice thrummed through the chamber, the whole room pushing in around the two combatants. Halfway through his attack, a far greater power had taken an interest in Scourge's antics, an entity as of this moment glaring at him from the hilt of the Sword of Shadows. He couldn't move. Nothing could. He couldn't feel himself moving, nor could he perceive that his opponent still could. Miles slipped free of his foe's grasp, clutching the blade in both hands. _" **He is...unsatisfactory.** "_

"I'm going to kill him, you know..."  
 _" **You will not.** "_ The statement was delivered with terrifying finality.  
"Excuse me?"  
 _" **He has better uses, and I have yet to extract my payment from both of you.** "_  
"What uses? He's a worthless wretch, not fit to live after all he has done."  
 _" **And he will meet his end, when I see fit.** "_  
"Pardon me, you're a sword."  
 _" **Even as intelligent as you believe you are, you are still so naive. Never mind...I will take a portion of your spirit in exchange for my services.** "_  
"What!?" Miles froze, trying to hurl the weapon from his grasp. It clung to his fingers practically seizing them shut, the eye visibly rotating on its axis to stare up at him. "If you need to take something from me... a limb will suffice."  
 _" **You need not worry. That of you which is taken will be returned in time...consider it an investment.** "_

Wincing, Miles fought to hold back a scream as thousands of needles stabbed into his palm and fingers. Almost immediately, something began to leave him, his brilliant silver fur starting to fade back to yellow. The drain increased its ferocity, tearing the energy from him as tribute for its patronage. Through all of it the fox kept silent, biting down on his lip and drawing blood with the effort, the strength of the Beryls draining from him and then cutting into his own reserves, exhaustion and fatigue ramming themselves into his mind. Suddenly remaining awake became a chore, his limbs feeling leaden and numb.  
 _" **Ah...yes...and it is set into motion. Now, watch as the pawn realises his mistake...** "_  
With that, the deadness hanging over everything vanished without warning. Unable to remain in the air the fox collapsed towards the ground, smacking hard against his side as Scourge's Anarchy blast detonated, vaporising the moisture in the air and carving through the castle walls. His reserves burned through themselves with the force of the attack, bottoming out and trying to pull from more than they could. They found something, something incompatible with him, and attacked that too. His rage expended against nanites and trees the hedgehog was left with less strength than he'd expected, the Beryls within him actively expelling themselves from the foreign substance within and leaving him wrestling with the burnout of a Super Form, bereft of its power.

Both Adepts groaned, struggling to regain their footing, but collapsed once more, lapsing into unconsciousness.  
"I take it that means it's over." Having cowered for the duration but also being unable to leave the throne room during the fight, Hawk like much of the Destrictix had taken cover behind various obstacles.  
"Looks like..." Lightning replied. "Now what do we do?"  
"We leave, before they wake up or the castle decides it wants some new playthings," Simian sighed, rising to his full height. "I'll be carrying Scourge then."  
"Of course. You're the only one that can take the weight of his giant head."  
"What about the girl?"  
"Leave her." The lynx wasn't interested in being affiliated with Fiona at all by this point. "She got us into this, so she deserves whatever happens to her."  
"Fair enough. Let's go." Foisting the unconscious hedgehog onto one shoulder Simian scowled down at Miles lying unconscious only a few feet away, wary of getting any closer with the sword still in his hand. It _felt_ ominous.

"That's got the Doc's name written all over it..." Predator mused.  
"Do we take it?"  
"Hell no! If he wants it, he can come and get it." Gesturing to Flying Frog to actually get moving, Lightning was as keen as anyone else to get out of that place. The quartet rushed out of the room, Scourge hauled with them, leaving Miles behind, groaning as consciousness slowly seeped back into his brain. He gripped his head, shaking it for a moment. They were all gone...well, that was something. Now he just had to deal with the entity that had decided to strike deal with him - he didn't like the idea of not being in control. THankfully, the hilt was no longer glued to his hand, so leaving it behind until he figured out what it had done to him would be possible.  
"Anima..."  
 _"Yes?"_  
"It's...safe to come out now."  
 _"Where are you?"_  
"Throne room. Don't touch the sword."

A few seconds later, Anima flickered into the room, Alicia and Fiona with her. The fox-girl's new attire surprised him; It was all long and flowing, but at a glance he couldn't see a single clasp on it, and individual layers were suspiciously see-through. Head downcast, hair loose and flowing, and eyes closed, she looked...empty. "Alicia, I take it she's staying then?"  
"Yes..." Alicia nodded, rubbing the vixen's shoulders.  
"Do you want her to have her own room?" He knew that whatever Alicia had in store for her, it was acceptable. She'd keep Fiona safe, in any case.  
"I don't think so... As long as you don't mind her sharing with us."  
"I don't, though the spell will wear off before long."  
"It's already broken." The squirrel replied. Miles blinked, noticing that  
"Then she's acting like this... how?"  
"WHen I told her what had happened, she just... gave up."

Miles sighed, and said nothing else. He'd been hoping to avoid that. A broken Fiona made it easier to keep her in line and out of harm's way, but it seemed like a part of her was lost in that, even to someone not prone to sentiment. It was too late for that now; he would have to make do with the way she was and cope in his own way. Looking away and letting his expression fall, his eyes came to rest on the Sword of Shadows. He needed somewhere secure to store it, until he could decipher the mysteries of the being speaking through its eye.  
It would require a closer examination of the runes in the cave, and a new vault.

* * *

And that's the conclusion of Uncivil War, and the beginning of the Uncivil Trilogy as a whole.

Will Fiona regain her spirit? What does the sword have in store for Miles? Where will the Destructix go now? Answers are forthcoming, but only the latter is any time soon. In the second part of the trilogy, Uncivil Union, we'll be rejoining the Freedom Fighters, and revealing what they were up to during this event, before everything crashes back together in the grand finale.

Therix and I are currently seven chapters in to UU, with an eighth currently in production.

Fun Fact: This is the first complete story I've written that does not feature Tails, and the sequel will be the first complete story I've written that does not feature Fiona. Normal faire will resume for the third, though.


End file.
